A Marching Occupation: NYC to DC

posted by Lana N. | 3pt
November 20, 2011

Timed to reach Washington at the same time the so-called Super Committee releases its deficit-cutting recommendations, a group of Occupy Wall Streeters has left New York City and is marching by foot to McPherson Square, home of Occupy DC.

The route is over 200 miles, and the marchers set off just in time for cold and rainy weather to set in. Walking a couple hundred miles is tough enough on its own, but try doing it in cold and wet socks and shoes! Sore muscles, blistered feet, and sniffly noses beset many of the marchers.Marching to DC has a long legacy in American history, from "Coxey's Army" of unemployed workers marching on DC to protest in the late 19th Century to Martin Luther King's civil rights march on Washington that culminated in the "I Have a Dream" speech -- and major civil rights legislation.The hope of the marchers is to bring to light the disconnect between the deliberations of the Super Committee in Washington DC and the concerns expressed by Occupy Wall Street and thousands of other Occupy sites. While the Super Committee worries about how much to cut from Social Security and Medicare and other important social programs and ignores tax cuts for the rich, millions of Americans are worried about paying for education, housing and food with flattened wages and high unemployment.The march functions just like any other Occupy site, except that it's literally in motion. They hold GAs every day and they have working groups and committees to discuss issues, make decisions, and carry out their plans.The marchers should arrive in Washington DC early next week. We'll have a few more updates for you in the next few days, including a big warm welcome for their arrival in DC. But if you want to follow the daily happenings of the marchers, check out their website at http://nycmarch2dc.wordpress.com/ and their active Twitter feed at https://twitter.com/#!/NYCmarch2DC. And if you want a closer look at some of the main figures of the march, the Washington Post has a nice profile here. .